1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a DNA fragment encoding an enzyme that catalyzes the reaction in which NADH is oxidized by oxygen molecules to generate hydrogen peroxide (Japanese Laid-Open Publication 2-407889) and a method for preparing the enzyme with the use of a microorganism including a plasmid containing the fragment. The enzyme is useful for detection of a very small amount of substance in vivo with the use of the reaction generating NADH.
2. Description of the Prior Art
NADH oxidases are divided into two groups, one group which generates hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen peroxide-generating enzymes) and the other group which generates water (water-generating enzymes) by the reaction with oxygen molecules.
Hydrogen peroxide-generating enzymes can be found in a culture of Streptococus mutans. However, it is difficult to obtain a stable culture condition in which water-generating enzymes can be obtained in a much higher level than the level of hydrogen peroxide-generating enzymes, which can also be found in the culture. Moreover, it is necessary to separate hydrogen peroxide generating enzymes from water-generating enzymes in the culture. Therefore, a method for preparing a large amount of hydrogen peroxide-generating NADH oxidases stably in a rational way, i.e., a method for preparing NADH oxidases with the use of gene recombinant techniques is desired.
The conventional method for preparing NADH oxidases with a culture of Streptococus mutans is not suitable for obtaining a large amount of a hydrogen peroxide-generating NADH oxidase. Therefore, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a gene encoding a NADH oxidase, which can be used in a method for preparing a large amount of a hydrogen peroxide-generating NADH oxidase by gene recombinant techniques.